Bedside hanger and surgical bag



NOV. 30, 1965 E. D, G, GARTH 3,220,434

BEDSIDE HANGER AND SURGICAL BAG Original Filed June 20, 1962 al @LJ United States Patent O 3,220,434 BEDSIDE HANGER AND SURGICAL BAG Ernest D. G. Garth, deceased, late of Summit, NJ., by Andrew B. Young, 516 Auburn Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., and L. Chester May, 910 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill., co-executors Continuation of application Ser. No. 204,011, June 20, 1962. This application Dec. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 422,070 1 Claim. (Cl. 137-374) This application is a continuation of our earlier-filed pending application, Serial Number 204,011, filed June 20, 1962, now abandoned entitled Bedside Hanger for Surgical Bag.

This invention relates to an improved bedside hanger and disposable drainage bag. The hanger, in addition to supporting the bag, may also be provided with guide and support means for the drainage tube during the draining period, and support and closure means for the tube when the drainage bag is removed:

The broad object of the invention is to provide an improved bedside supporting means and disposable drainage bag.

A more specific object is to provide a bedside hanger which will firmly and securely support the drainage bag and yet allow the bag, when filled, to be readily and easily removed from the hanger so that there is small likelihood of the attendant dropping the bag or spilling its contents.

The above objects are accomplished, in accordance with the present invention, by providing a hanger formed out -of a single integral piece of resilient wire, preferably aluminum, and fashioned to clamp on the bedrail by means of vertical rear and front portions for engaging respectively the inward and outward vertical surfaces of the bedrail, and upper and lower horizontal portions fior engaging the top and under horizontal surfaces respectively of the bedrail. The integral wire hanger also includes a pair of spaced-apart dependent legs which terminate in a pair of outwardly-directed horizontal feet adapted for engaging and supporting the bag in dependent position therefrom. When placing the bag on the hanger or removing it therefrom, the attendant, using one hand, compresses the spaced-apart legs toward each other, the resilience of the wire hanger allowing the legs, when released, to return to their original positions.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of a preferred form, illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View showing the hanger in position on the bedrail and supporting a drainage bag;

FIG. 2 illustrates the manner in which the depending legs of the hanger are compressed by the hand of the attendant when removing the bag from the hanger;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hanger alone;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation looking along the line IV-IV of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation showing the hanger in position on the bedrail;

FIG. 6 is a view in section along the line VI-VI of FIG. 1 showing the double clamp with the drainage tube passing through the larger of the clamps; and

FIG. 7 is a view in section along the line VII-VII of FIG. 2 showing the manner in which the smaller of the clamps compresses and closes off the end portion of the tube when the same is inserted therein, as in FIG. 2.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, -specic terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not the intention to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term mice includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

In FIG. 3 of the drawing, a preferred configuration of bedside hanger is illustrated. Except for the tube clamp 10, which is preferably of plastic and which is snapped on to the hanger wire, the hanger 12 is fashioned from a single integral piece of wire, preferably aluminum, and preferably about Ms in diameter.

The wire hanger 12 is intended to clamp on to the side rail 13 'of the hospital bed without need of adjustment and without need of tightening any bolts, screws or the like. To this end, the hanger 12 is fashioned with upper horizontal :support portions 14a and 14b adapted to engage the top surface of the bedrail, rear portions 15a and 15b connected by a centrally disposed dependent U-portion 15e` adapted to engage the rear vertical surface of the bedrail, front dependent portions 17a and 17b adapted to engage the front Vertical surface of the bedrail, and lower horizontal portions 18a and 18b which extend rearwardly and are adapted to engage the under surface of the bedrail. Legs 19a and 19b extend downwardly and forwardly along inclined paths from the rearward ends of the lower horizontal portions 18a and 18b and terminate at their lower extremities in outwardlydirected feet 20a and 20h.

The bag 30 may be made 'of any suitable material but is preferably made of transparent plastic material, ysuch as polyethylene. It may be formed by extruding the plastic tubing in continuous form from a known type of extrusion machine at a temperature sufficiently high to kill any living micro-organisms, such as bacteria, spores, bacilli, and the like. Immediately after extrusion, the plastic tubing may be flattened, as by passing between rollers, into a so-called lay-flat form having seamless parallel edges 31 and 32 running longitudinally of the tubing. The tubing is provided with a hem 33 along one edge, as by providing a seal 34 running parallel with, and located a relatively short distance from, the seamless edge 32. Pairs of closely-spaced transverse seals are provided at spaced intervals extending from the lower seamless edge 31 `of the tubing up to, but not appreciably beyond, the longitudinal seal 34. To form the individual plastic bags, the tubing 30 is severed along transverse lines running between the closely-spaced pairs of transverse seals, thus forming a plurality of individual bags each having a closed sealed compartment bounded by the seals 34, 35, and 36 and the lower seamless edge 31. The interior -of the closed and sealed compartment remains sterile until the bag is to be used. At that time, a corner `of the bag is cut off, as at 37, forming an opening leading into the interior of the previously closed compartment, and, through the opening thus formed, the drain tube 40 is inserted, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As also illustrated in FIG. 1, the tubular hem 33 is cut or notched to form the hem openings 38 and 39 into which the feet 20a and 20b of the hanger are to be inserted. In making the cuts or notches which form the hem openings 38 and 39, care should be exercised so as not to cut through the seal 34 into the closed compartment 35. This is particularly true if the hem cuts or notches are made at the time the bags are first produced, as is preferable.

The manner in which the hanger 12 is clamped over the bedrail 13, and the manner in which the bag 30 is supported by the feet 20a and 20b of the hanger, are clearly illustrated in FIG. 1. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is the manner in which the drain tubing 40 is held in position by the double clamp 10. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 depicts more clearly that the drain tubing of FIG. 1 passes through the larger of the two U-clamps of the double clamp 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates one manner in which the filled, or partially lled, bag 30 may be removed from the hanger. As there shown, the attendant grasps the bag 30 with one hand, and with the other she graspsthe hanger legs 19a and 19h between the thumb and lingers and compresses the legs toward each other. When she does so, the feet 20a and 20b slide out of the end portions 33a and 33h of the hem 33, and the bag 30 is made free of the hanger.

In order to aovid confusion in the drawing, the left hand has been shown in FIG. 2 as grasping the upper left corner of the bag. However, in order to assure against spilling of contents, the left hand may preferably grasp the top of the bag between the notches 38 and 39. Alternatively, the left hand may be used to compress the legs 19a and 19h, and the right hand may grasp the bag at the upper right corner, close to the opening through which the drain tube 40 passed.

Prior to removing the bag, using the techniques just described, the end of the drain tube 40 is removed from the bag and inserted, as shown in FIG. 2, in the smaller of the two U-shaped clamps of the double-clamp 10. The cross-section dimension of the smaller clamp 10b, relative to the outer diameter of the tube 40, is such that the tube 40 is compressed and closed.

While the new hanger allows the bag to be easily and readily removed therefrom, the hanger nevertheless firmly and securely supports and holds the bag against unintentional dislodgment during the draining period. As the bag fills with liquid, and its weight increases, the downward pull of the bag on the end portions 33a and 33b of the hem increases not only in a downward but also in an inward direction, thereby holding the bag more securely than ever on the feet 20a and 20b. The structural combination of bag and hanger is thus such that, unless the legs of the hanger are moved toward each other while the bag itself remains spread, it is very difficult to dislodge the bag from the hanger. Hence, while the bag is securely supported against accidental dislodgment by pushing against either edge of the bag or by brushing across the face of the bag, yet the bag is readily removable bythe attendant.

As previously indicated, the hanger 12 is formed of a single integral piece of wire, but the clamp 10 is a separate item, preferably plastic. The surface ofthe hanger wire, in the front vertical portion 17b, is preferably provided with a pair of opposed axial notches or recesses for receiving opposing ridges which project from the clamp, thereby to assure that the clamp, when snapped on, remains firmly aihxed to the hanger.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in some detail, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

In combination: a surgical bag and a bedside hanger for supporting said surgical bag on the side rail of a bed, said bag having a container compartment and a horizontally disposed tubular hem above and outside said compartment having therein a pair of spaced-apart notches forming therebeyond a pair of spaced-apart tubular hanger-receiving portions, said hanger being formed out of a single integral piece of resilient wire and fashioned to provide rear and front Vertical portions for engaging respectively the inner and outer vertical surfaces of the bedrail, upper and lower horizontal portions for engaging respectively the top and under horizontal surfaces of the bedrail, and a pair of spaced-apart legs extending downward from the lower horizontal portions and terminating in a pair of divergently-outward opposinglyaligned horizontal feet for engaging said pair of spacedapart hanger-receiving portions of said hem for supporting said bag in dependent position therefrom, the spacing between said pair of spaced-apart legs being suciently shortto allow said legs to be grasped and compressed inward toward each other by the thumb and fingers of the hand, the resilience of said wire allowing said legs, after being compressedinward toward each other, to return outward when released to their original positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 575,403 1/1897 Morton 248-100 649,545 5 1900 MCConley 248-226 854,077 5/1907 Cronholm 248-100 2,959,386 11/1960 Garth 248-95 M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner. 

